AS 7.8 million people tuned in to watch the return of The Royle Family on Sunday, one proud viewer saw two members of her own "showbiz family" performing together on screen.

Drama teacher and manager Carol Godby was delighted to see two of her acting protgs playing father and son in the BBC One comedy.

Famous for delivering a string of household names into the world of television, Carol, who runs the Bury-based Carol Godby Theatre Workshop and Linton Management, introduced Radcliffe actor Ralf Little to the part of Anthony Royle in 1998. And by chance, playing Anthony's son in the one-off special was one of Carol's newest signings, Connor Marsh. Carol said: "It was really strange seeing the two of them on screen together but fantastic. I got Ralf the part in The Royle Family and now Connor is playing his son."

Young Connor (7) is not the only actor getting air-time at the moment as Carol has a number of members featuring in high-profile programmes.

Two actresses, Angela Holmes and Hayley McGroarty, have landed parts in the Channel Four programme Goldplated, while Amy Hart was on our screens last Saturday as a young Leslie Sharp in the spooky drama Afterlife. Also appearing in Goldplated this Thursday as a millionaire footballer is 21-year-old Liam Boyle.

Other youngsters have regular parts in Grange Hill, such as Georgia Foote and Naomi Ritchie, and a clutch of young actors are currently appearing in a variety of commercials, including Alicia Tweedale (Persil), Leah Crook (Persil),Tahra Edwards (LX Direct) and Lee Booth (Intel). Fans of the Channel Four soap, Hollyoaks, will recognise new character Mercedes, played by one of Carol's actresses Jennifer Metcalf, and former workshop regular Chris Fountain was nominated for Best Actor at this week's National Television Awards, being screened last night.

Like many of Carol's drama workshop members, Chris travelled from Bradford every week to attend classes. "I don't know what it is," said Carol, "but we get a lot of actors from Yorkshire who choose to come to us, here in Bury. While the kids are here, their parents go shopping, so we are boosting the local economy as well! People are always asking me why I don't move to the centre of Manchester but I don't feel it is necessary." Other established famous names include former Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson and current favourite Sam Aston, who plays Chesney.

Carol is so at home in Bury that she has just ploughed £150,000 into renovating a new studio, above the Siberia club on The Rock. Formerly a gym, the premises are just up the road from Carol's old base above the Early Learning Centre. She said: "We now have much better facilities. We have 1,000 people on the waiting list for our drama workshops. It's amazing how many people want to learn drama. They come for a variety of reasons, not just to be on television. People come to make new friends, improve communication skills, develop self-confidence and to help them in their GCSEs." So far, Carol - herself a star of Channel Four's Wife Swap - has developed three studios at the property and there is scope to develop further floor space above. She added: "I have never lost my enthusiasm for this business."